What began as an anti-gay march in Barbados on Saturday ended up in respectful dialogue with LGBT community members and prayers for the community’s success.

A Barbadian newspaper carried a story on Monday, Oct. 23, about a march planned that weekend by religious groups to “take back the rainbow” from the gay “movement.” Ostensibly, the event, dubbed “Stand Up, Stand Out,” was meant to condemn declining morals in Barbadian society. Such alarmist allegations have often been made when there is increased recognition of the human rights of LGBT people. Although Barbados has the most draconian anti-sodomy law in the Western Hemisphere (life imprisonment), which it inherited from Britain during colonization, the country rarely records as many anti-gay physical attacks as occur in other states in the region.